Portable gun bench

ABSTRACT

The present device is a folding gun bench that can be folded into a compact position that is readily movable from place to place and easily carried by the shooter. Once that the location that the shooter desires to utilize the bench, the bench is quickly and easily unfolded into the working position. The bench includes a latch mechanism that will prevent the bench from accidentally collapsing or folding once it is in the working position. The design of this bench also prevents the bench from tipping over while it is in use. The portability and the ability to fold the bench into a compact position allows this bench to be transported from place to place on a shooting range or to be easily transported by the shooter or hunter into the field to aid the sportsman in his shooting activities.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention involves a folding, portable, shooting bench. Prior art shooting benches exist, however, they are cumbersome and heavy to carry and transport from one place to another. Existing shooting benches are those such as designed and marketed as Uncle Bud's Portable Shooting Bench, Terminator II, and other shooting benches such as those marketed as BR Pivot Varmint Masters and Portable Shooters Bench. However, all of these lack the convenience and portability of the present invention. The present invention being completely self contained, including a bench and table upon which to rest the firearm. In its folded position it forms a natural handle with the top and can be easily carried by an individual from one place to another and in its folded position is much more compact than any of the prior art known to exist.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002]FIG. 1 is a side view of the present invention in its unfolded position.

[0003]FIG. 2 is a front view of the present invention in its unfolded position.

[0004]FIG. 3 is a side view of the present invention, opposite FIG. 1, without the attachment hardware shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0005] The present invention is a portable shooting bench to be utilized by the sportsman when shooting a rifle, shotgun, or handgun and one that is readily foldable and movable from one location to another. In the preferred embodiment, the invention is comprised of a top 1 made up of 4 tongue & groove locust boards, 1 a, 1 b, 1 c, 1 d and a bench 2 made of 2 tongue & groove locust boards 2 a, 2 b.

[0006] The tabletop 1 and the bench seat 2 are connected together by a series of legs and supports. The tabletop is connected at opposite ends by table supports 9 and 10 and the seat is supported at opposite ends by seat supports 11 and 12. Legs 3 and 4 extend from the ground and are connected at the opposite end to the table supports 9 and 10 respectively. They are connected to the supports 9 and 10 by bolts 20 and 21. The seat supports 11 and 12 have connected at their end opposite the seat 2, to support legs 7 and 8 respectively. The legs 7 and 8 are connected to the seat support members 11 and 12 by bolts 22, 23 and extend vertically therefrom in the open position. At the end opposite the seat supports 11 and 12, the legs 7 and 8 are connected to the table supports 9 and 10. The legs 7 and 8 are connected to the table support by bolts 24, 25 at ends thereof opposite the ends where legs 3 and 4 are connected to the supports 9 and 10. Additional legs 5 and 6, contact the ground and help support the bench when in its open position. The legs 5 and 6 are connected together near the end thereof that contacts the ground by a leg brace 13. The brace 13 is connected to the legs 5 and 6 by means of wood screws 28. The legs 5 and 6 are further attached to the seat support members 11 and 12, at a location between the seat and the end that is attached to the legs 7 and 8. The legs 5 and 6 are attached by bolts 26, 27 such that they can pivot relative to the seat supports 11 and 12. The legs 5 and 6 at the end opposite the end that contacts the ground, are attached to legs 3 and 4 respectfully by hinges 17 and 18. These hinges are located on the legs 3 and 4, at a location between the end of legs 3 and 4 that contact the ground and the end that is attached to the table support members 9 and 10. A leg support member 14 is attached to legs 3 and 4 by wood screws 28 at a location near the end of legs 3 and 4 that contacts the ground. An additional horizontal support member 19, is attached to legs 3 and 4 by wood screws 28, such that in the unfolded position the seat supports 11 and 12 will rest on the horizontal support 19 to help support the weight of the sportsman when sitting on the seat 2. A latching means such as a ring with retractable spring plunger 29 and 30, is located on the legs 3 and 4 at a location that will bring it into contact with the seat support members 11 and 12 and retain the shooting bench in the unfolded position.

[0007] With the preferred embodiment in the unfolded position, the overall height of the device is 38 inches, with an overall width of 31 inches, with the table top being 34 inches by 22 inches, and the seat portion being 26 inches by approximately 10 inches. In the opened position the sportsman would sit on the seat 2 and lay the firearm onto the table top 1, and thus be able to sight in the firearm while resting on the table top 1. Once the sportsman is completed with the sighting in of his firearm and wishes to return home or move to another spot on the range, or even another spot while hunting in the field, he can simply collapse or fold the present invention into a more compact and easily transportable design having an overall dimension of 46 inches in height, 34 inches wide, and 10 inches deep. To do this one would simply retract or release the latching mechanisms 29 and 30, pull the seat in an upward, vertical direction away from the ground while pushing the table top down and moving the legs 3 and 4 toward the legs 5 and 6 respectfully. This would allow and move the seat supports 11 and 12 in a pivoting direction such that the seat would pivot up in a vertical direction and the ends of supports 11 and 12 would pivot down at the end where they are connected to the legs 7 and 8. Once in the folded position, the sportsman would simply place the device between his body and his arm, extend his hand down to the lowest portion of the table top and readily pick up the device. In this compact design and with the dimensions as stated, the bottom of the tabletop 1 forms a natural handle making for ease of transportation.

[0008] The device in its preferred embodiment as described herein weighs approximately 35 to 38 pounds making its compact and lightweight design preferable over any of the models on the market today. In the preferred embodiment as stated, the table top and the seat are made out of tongue & grooved locust wood while the frame is pressure-treated 2×4's which may be painted or left in the natural tone and coated with a polyurethane or other type of sealant if desired. However, as would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, other type of lumber could be used to form both the tabletop and/or the frame and would not deviate from the inventive concept of the present invention. Further, the table top and seat could be made out of any number of readily available materials such as plastic, fiberglass, plywood, or other materials and again would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art. The hardware used to attach the legs together, namely, bolts 20 through 27 are {fraction (5/16)} by 3½ inch bolts, however, this hardware could be of various other dimensions and sizes and would again not deviate from the inventive concept herein. Further, the latching pins may or may not be necessary, however, as a safety device they are included in the preferred embodiment herein but to remove the latch means 29 and 30 would in no way deviate from the inventive concept of the present invention. Additional safety devices are shown as stops 15 and 16. These stops 15 and 16 as shown in FIG. 1 are attached to supports 9 and 10 and located such that when the table is in the open, operating position they engage the legs 3 and 4 and aid in preventing the present invention from opening to far. These stops may be attached by glue or other adhesive or wood screws 28. The stops 15 and 16 may be made from the same material as the legs and supports, rubber, or any other material obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.

[0009] The advantages of the present invention over the prior art are its light weight, its compact, collapsed position, and with the design and dimensions as set forth in a preferred embodiment, the present invention is very stable and not susceptible to being tipped over when weight is applied to the end of the tabletop opposite where the seat is. With this compact and inexpensive design, virtually any sportsman can acquire one of the present inventions and use it with relative ease. Given the light weight, the present invention can be used not only on a shooting range, but could readily be transported and carried along out into the field when hunting in open areas, where support for the sportsman, when shooting, is otherwise unavailable.

[0010] An alternative version of the present invention would include the addition of a shelf, a footrest or both. The shelf would be located between support members 11 and 12 and support members 9 and 10, under table 1. The footrest would be located on and attached to legs 5 and 6. The addition of these items are deemed to be obvious modifications, to one of ordinary skill in the art, and in no way should be construed to be patentable deviations from the inventive concept of the present invention. 

I claim:
 1. A shooters table comprising: at least two movable surfaces that are horizontal in an operating position and substantially vertical in a closed position; said surfaces are each attached to and supported by multiple support members; the support members are connected to a plurality of legs; and in the operating position said legs support the movable surfaces in a horizontal position.
 2. A shooters table as recited in claim 1 and furthering comprising: pivot means connecting said support members and said legs; and hinge means connecting a plurality of said legs together.
 3. A shooters table as recited in claim 2 and further comprising a plurality of leg braces interconnecting two legs together.
 4. A shooters table as recited in claim 3 and further comprising a safety means to lock the table in the operating position.
 5. A shooters table as recited in claim 1, further comprising: said plurality of legs comprising three pairs of legs, a first pair and a second pair of said legs are connected by hinge means that allows for the legs to move toward and away from each other; and, the third pair of said legs are connected at one end to said supports for one of said movable surfaces and at an opposite end to said supports for the other movable surface.
 6. A shooters table as recited in claim 5 and further comprising: said two movable surfaces being of different sizes; said supports for said larger movable surface are connected to a top end of the first pair of legs and to a top end of the third pair of legs; and said supports for said smaller movable surface are connected to a bottom end of the third pair of legs and to an intermediate portion of the second pair of legs. 